Cleaning device with tail swab

ABSTRACT

A cleaning device with tail swab having a plurality of soft elongated strips.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of and claims the benefit of, andpriority to U.S. Nonprovisional patent application Ser. No. 14/872,475filed Oct. 1, 2015, currently pending, which application is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to a cleaning device having anelongated tail swab that is especially useful for cleaning surgicalinstruments and medical devices. More particularly, the presentinvention relates to a cleaning device which includes an elongatedflexible leader member, a tail swab having a plurality of soft elongatedstrips attached to one end of the leader member, and a polymer materialcovering at least a portion of the tail swab and the end of the leadermember where the tail swab member is attached to the leader member.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Medical devices and medical instruments are becoming more sophisticatedand much smaller thereby enabling surgeons to reach remote parts of thebody without the need for open surgery which exposes a much larger partof the body to the risk of outside infections. In addition, using theseinstruments results in lowering the complications of surgery andspeeding up the recovery time for patients. However, these devices andinstruments must be cleaned and decontaminated after use so that theycan be reused in future procedures. This cleaning and decontaminationprocess is often called reprocessing.

Reprocessing medical instruments and devices can become difficult withthe newest and latest devices which often include miniscule channels andcrevices that can be impossible to see and troublesome to access. Inaddition, the instruments and devices sometimes fail to come withadequate cleaning instructions or include cleaning instructions that areconfusing and onerous to follow. As a result, many of these instrumentsand devices are reused without proper cleaning which can lead to severerisks for patients.

A University of Michigan study analyzed the cleanliness of 350 suctiontips used to vacuum up fluids during surgery and found that 95 percentof them still contained debris after routine reprocessing. In anotherstudy, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) conducted an investigationinto seven individuals who contracted surgical-site bacterial infectionsafter having knee or shoulder arthroscopy in a Houston hospital. The CDCfound that the arthroscopic shavers that were used for the procedurescontained residual bits of body tissue. Endoscopes and cannulas are evenmore worrisome to infectious disease experts in that millions ofsurgical procedures are performed each year using these instruments.

Surgical instruments like endoscopes and cannulas are typically cleanedwith twisted metal wire brushes and pipe cleaning type devices. However,these types of cleaning devices can cause major problems includingincomplete cleaning, damage to medical devices and instruments resultingfrom scratching, and metal fibers and other types of cleaning fibersleft inside the instruments after cleaning. In addition, these types ofcleaning devices are high in cost to produce and therefore need to bereused, thereby carrying the attendant risks of cross contamination.

Accordingly, there is a need for a simple, low cost cleaning devicewhich overcomes these obstacles. There is also a particular need for asimple, low cost device specifically designed for cleaning medicalinstruments and medical devices such as endoscopes and cannulas withoutthe risk of damaging the instruments and further risking infection topatients.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a cleaning device with a tail swabhaving a plurality of soft elongated strips. In one exemplaryembodiment, the cleaning device with tail swab includes a flexibleleader member having a first end and a second end, a tail swab having aplurality of soft elongated strips attached to the second end of theleader member where the plurality of soft elongated strips are shorterin length than the leader member, and a polymer material covering atleast a portion of the tail swab and the second end of the leadermember. A separate polymer material may also cover the first end of theleader member and this polymer material may be comprised of the samepolymer material that covers the second end of the leader member and atleast a portion of the tail swab.

One exemplary embodiment of the tail swab includes a single strip ofsoft material that is cut at opposite ends to form a plurality of softelongated strips which are separated by a continuous middle portion ofthe single strip of soft material. The width of the continuous middleportion of the single strip of soft material may be smaller than thewidth of each of the plurality of soft elongated strips and the lengthof the continuous middle portion of the single strip of soft materialmay be smaller than the length of each of the plurality of softelongated strips. In another exemplary embodiment of the cleaning devicewith tail swab, the leader member is at least one meter in length andthe plurality of elongated strips are at least 100 millimeters inlength.

The second end of the leader member that is attached to the tail swabmay be folded to form a hook like member and the continuous middleportion of the single strip of soft material may be positioned withinthe hook like member. The leader member may comprise a wire coated witha polymer and the tail swab may comprise a foam material and/or amicrofiber material. The polymer material that covers at least a portionof the tail swab and the second end of the leader member may be a heatshrink polymer tube member and a separate heat shrink polymer tubemember may also be used as the polymer that covers the first end of theleader member.

In still another exemplary embodiment of the cleaning device with tailswab, the cleaning device includes an elongated leader member havingopposite ends where the leader member is at least one meter in lengthand a tail swab having a plurality of soft elongated strips that areshorter in length than the leader member where the tail swab is attachedto an end of the leader member. A polymer material may cover at least aportion of the tail swab and the end of the leader member where the tailswab is attached as well as the end of the leader member opposite wherethe tail member is attached. The tail swab may comprise a single softstrip that is cut to form a plurality of soft elongated strips that areseparated by a continuous middle portion of the single soft strip. Thewidth of the continuous middle portion of the single soft strip may besmaller than the width of each of the plurality of soft elongated stripsand the length of the continuous middle portion of the soft single stripmay be smaller than the length of each of the plurality of softelongated strips.

The end of the leader member where the tail member is attached maycomprise a hook like shape or hook member where the continuous middleportion of the single soft strip is positioned within the hook member.The leader member may comprise a wire coated with a polymer and the tailswab may comprise a foam material and/or a microfiber material.

The present invention is also directed to a method for making a cleaningdevice with tail swab. In one exemplary embodiment, the method formaking the cleaning device with tail swab includes the steps ofproviding an elongated leader member having opposite ends and foldingone end of the leader member so it forms a hook like shape, cutting asingle elongated strip of material to form a plurality of soft elongatedstrips separated by a continuous middle portion, positioning thecontinuous middle portion of the single elongated strip within the hooklike shape of the leader member, and coating at least a portion of thecontinuous middle portion of the single elongated strip and the hooklike shape at the end of the leader member with a polymer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The subject invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction withthe appended drawing figures, wherein like numerals denote likeelements, and

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one exemplary embodiment of the cleaningdevice with tail swab of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of the exemplary embodiment of thecleaning device with tail swab shown in FIG. 1 with the flexible leadermember and tail swab both shown extended to a straight position;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the exemplary embodiment of thecleaning device with tail swab shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a rear elevational view of the exemplary embodiment of thecleaning device with tail swab shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of an exemplary embodiment of the tail swab ofthe cleaning device with tail swab of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a magnified view of a portion of the exemplary embodiment ofthe tail swab shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of another exemplary embodiment of the tailswab of the cleaning device with tail swab of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a magnified view of a portion of the exemplary embodiment ofthe tail swab shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a top plan view showing attachment of the tail swab shown inFIG. 5 to a leader member of the cleaning device with tail swab of thepresent invention;

FIG. 10 is the top plan view shown in FIG. 9 with the addition of apolymer shrink tube member placed over the leader member;

FIG. 11 is a side elevational view of the exemplary embodiment of thecleaning device with tail swab shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 12 is an opposite side elevational view of the cleaning device withtail swab shown in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 13 is a magnified view of a portion of the exemplary embodiment ofthe cleaning device with tail swab shown in FIG. 11.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

The cleaning device with tail swab of the present invention generallyprovides a flexible leader member and a tail swab having a plurality ofsoft elongated strips attached to an end of the leader member. FIG. 1 isa perspective view of one exemplary embodiment of the cleaning device 10with tail swab of the present invention. Cleaning device 10 with tailswab includes an elongated flexible leader member 12 having a first end14 and a second end 16, a tail swab 18 having a plurality of softelongated strips 20 attached to the second end 16 of the elongatedflexible leader member 12, and a polymer material 22 covering at least aportion of the tail swab 18 and the second end 16 of the elongatedflexible leader member 12. A separate polymer material 24 may cover thefirst end 14 of the elongated flexible leader member 12 to enable thefirst end 14 to be inserted into and pushed through a medical device orsurgical instrument without scratching or damaging the interior of themedical device or surgical instrument. Once the first end 14 is pushedthrough and to the outside of a medical device or surgical instrument,the cleaning device 10 with tail swab can be pulled through the interiorof the medical device or surgical instrument by pulling on first end 14thereby enabling the length of the elongated flexible leader member 12and the tail swab 18, including its plurality of soft elongated strips20, to be pulled through the medical device or surgical instrument toclean the interior of the medical device or surgical instrument. Theplurality of soft elongated strips 20 of tail swab 18 enable effective,efficient and non-abrasive cleaning of the interior of any medicaldevice or surgical instrument that contains a channel or channels thatare inaccessible for cleaning.

Leader member 12 may be comprised of any flexible material that hasreduced potential for contamination. For example, leader member 12 maybe comprised of a flexible metal covered with a polymer material. Onesuch non-limiting example is a leader member comprising a stainlesssteel wire coated with a nylon material. Leader member 12 may comprise arod-like shape and all or a portion of leader member 12 may be coloredto effect color coding of different embodiments of the cleaning device10 with tail swab, namely embodiments with different leader memberlengths, embodiments with different tail swab lengths, and embodimentswith different tail swab configurations. Tail swab 18 may be comprisedof any type of soft absorbent material such as, but not limited to, afoam material and/or a cloth type material. One particularly effectivematerial for tail swab 18 is a continuous filament micro denier, softpolyester/nylon textile woven from an abrasion resistant fabric. It mayalso have a non-symmetrical micro fiber structure. The polymer material22 and separate polymer material 24 may each comprise a heat shrinkpolymer tube that can be easily placed over flexible leader member 12and then heated to conform to the shape of the end of the leader memberand/or the shape of the tail swab that is covered by the polymermaterial to form a good mechanical connection that is adhesive free. Inaddition, instead of a heat shrink polymer tube, the polymer materialmay comprise an elastomeric material that can be over molded on top ofthe leader member 12, ends 14, 16 of the leader member 12, and/or tailswab 18 to form a good, non-adhesive, mechanical connection.

FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of the exemplary embodiment of thecleaning device 10 with tail swab shown in FIG. 1 with the flexibleleader member 12 and tail swab 18 both shown extended to a straightposition. The length of the tail swab 18 and the plurality of softelongated strips 20 of tail swab 18 are shorter than the length of theflexible leader member 12. The leader member 12 may have any length thatis longer than the tail swab 18 and that is also long enough to bepushed through a channel or interior of a medical device or surgicalinstrument so that its opposite ends can remain outside the medicaldevice or surgical instrument after one of its ends has been pushedthrough the medical device or surgical instrument. One particularlyuseful length for the flexible leader member 12 is a length that is atleast one meter. Another exemplary embodiment of the cleaning device 10with tail swab may have a flexible leader member that is at least twometers in length depending on the device or instrument to be cleaned.

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the exemplary embodiment of thecleaning device 10 with tail swab shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 is a rearelevational view of the exemplary embodiment of the cleaning device 10with tail swab shown in FIG. 2. As can be seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, thewidth of each of the plurality of soft elongated strips 20 of tail swab18 may be larger than the diameter of the flexible leader member 12.

A top plan view of an exemplary embodiment of the tail swab 18 of thecleaning device 10 with tail swab of the present invention is shown inFIG. 5. In this exemplary embodiment, tail swab 18 is made from a singlestrip 30 of a soft material that is cut at opposite ends 32, 34 of thesingle strip 30 to form the plurality of soft elongated strips 20 whichare separated by a continuous middle portion 36 of single strip 30. Itwill be understood by those skilled in the art that the opposite ends32, 34 of single strip 30 may be cut inward from their opposite ends toform any number and length of the plurality of soft elongated strips 20.It will also be understood by those skilled in the art that single strip30 may start out as a strip of material having a continuous length andwidth that is later machine cut to form the plurality of soft elongatedstrips 20 and the continuous middle portion 36 so that the continuousmiddle portion 36 has a smaller width than each of the plurality of softelongated strips 20. Moreover, single strip 30 may not be cut at all andmay simply be used to form two soft elongated strips 20 of tail swab 18by connecting the middle of the single strip 30 to an end of leadermember 12 or by folding single strip 30 in half and connecting thefolded portion of the single strip 30 to an end of leader member 12. Itwill also be understood by those skilled in the art that, although notas potentially contaminate free and/or particle free, another method maybe used to create the plurality of soft elongated strips 20, namelyseparately cutting and/or forming a plurality of soft strips 20 and thenattaching an end of each of those strips 20 to an end of leader member12. In one exemplary embodiment of the plurality of soft elongated stripmembers 20, the length of the plurality of soft elongated strip members20 in any of the exemplary embodiments of the tail swab 18 may be atleast 100 millimeters long. In another exemplary embodiment of theplurality of soft elongated strip members 20, the length of theplurality of soft elongated strip members 20 in any of the exemplaryembodiments of the tail swab 18 may be at least 200 millimeters long.

FIG. 6 is a magnified view of a portion of the exemplary embodiment ofthe tail swab 18 shown in FIG. 5. As can be seen from this exemplaryembodiment, width A of continuous middle portion 36 of single strip 30is smaller than width B of each of the plurality of soft elongatedstrips 20 of single strip 30. In one exemplary embodiment width A is 2.5millimeters and width B is 5.0 millimeters. Length Y of continuousmiddle portion 36 of single strip 30 may be equal to, less than, orgreater than length Z which is the length from the end of continuousmiddle portion 36 of single strip 20 to the beginning of each separateplurality of elongated strips 20. In one exemplary embodiment length Ymay be 10 millimeters and length Z may be 10 millimeters. In anotherexemplary embodiment, length Y may be 10 millimeters and length Z may be20 millimeters.

A top plan view of another exemplary embodiment of the tail swab 48 ofthe cleaning device 10 with tail swab of the present invention is shownin FIG. 7. In this exemplary embodiment, tail swab 48 is made from asingle strip 40 of a soft material that is cut in the middle to form theplurality of soft elongated strips 20 which are separated by acontinuous middle portion 46 of single strip 40. The continuous middleportion 46 has a smaller width than each of the plurality of softelongated strips 20. Moreover, in a different exemplary embodiment,single strip 30 may not be cut at all and may simply be used to form twosoft elongated strips 20 of tail swab 48 by connecting the middle of thesingle strip 40 to an end of leader member 12 or by folding single strip40 in half and connecting the folded portion of the single strip 40 toan end of leader member 12. In this different embodiment, the continuousmiddle portion 46 would have a width equal to the width of each of theplurality of soft elongated strips 20. It will also be understood bythose skilled in the art that, although not as potentially contaminatefree and/or particle free, another method may be used to create theplurality of soft elongated strips 20, namely separately cutting and/orforming a plurality of soft strips 20 and then attaching an end of eachof those strips 20 to an end of leader member 12. As previouslymentioned above, in one exemplary embodiment of the plurality of softelongated strip members 20, the length of the plurality of softelongated strip members 20 in any of the exemplary embodiments of thetail swab 18 may be at least 100 millimeters long. Further, aspreviously mentioned above, in another exemplary embodiment of theplurality of soft elongated strip members 20, the length of theplurality of soft elongated strip members 20 in any of the exemplaryembodiments of the tail swab 18 may be at least 200 millimeters long.

FIG. 8 is a magnified view of a portion of the exemplary embodiment ofthe tail swab 48 shown in FIG. 7. As can be seen from this exemplaryembodiment, width C of continuous middle portion 46 of single strip 40is smaller than width D of each of the plurality of soft elongatedstrips 20 of single strip 40. In one exemplary embodiment width A may be2.5 millimeters and width B may be 3.0 millimeters. Length Y ofcontinuous middle portion 46 of single strip 30 may be 10 millimeters.

FIG. 9 is a top plan view showing attachment of the tail swab 18 shownin FIG. 5 to a leader member 12 of the cleaning device with tail swab ofthe present invention and FIG. 10 is the top plan view shown in FIG. 9with the addition of a polymer material 22 in the form of a polymershrink tube member placed over the leader member 12. Flexible leadermember 12 has a first end (not shown) and a second end 16. Second end 16of leader member 12 is folded or bent to form a hook like shape or hooklike member 27. Continuous middle portion 36 of the single strip 30 oftail member 18 is positioned within the hook like member 27. A polymermaterial 22 such as polymer shrink tube member 29 is placed on leadermember 12 by inserting lead member 12 through the polymer shrink tubemember 29 as shown in FIG. 10. After the continuous middle portion 36 ofthe single strip 30 of tail member 18 is positioned within the hook likemember 27, the polymer shrink tube member 29 is slid down over the hooklike member 27 and the continuous middle portion 36 thereby pushing theplurality of soft elongated strips 20 in a direction away from leadermember 12. The polymer shrink tube member 29 can then be heated to forma good, non-adhesive, mechanical connection of the tail swab 18 to theleader member 12. It will also be understood by those skilled in the artthat, instead of a heat shrink polymer tube, the polymer material 22 andseparate polymer material 24 may comprise an elastomeric material thatcan be over molded on top of the leader member 12, ends 14, 16 of theleader member 12, and/or tail swab 18 to form a good, non-adhesive,mechanical connection.

FIG. 11 is a side elevational view of the exemplary embodiment of thecleaning device 10 with tail swab shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 12 is anopposite side elevational view of the cleaning device 10 with tail swabshown in FIG. 2. FIG. 13 is a magnified view of a portion of theexemplary embodiment of the cleaning device 10 with tail swab shown inFIG. 11 that clearly shows the non-adhesive, mechanical connection ofthe lead member 12 to the tail swab 18 having a plurality of softelongated strips 20 by way of using the polymer material 22, exemplaryembodiments of which have been previously described above.

The present invention is also directed to a method for making a cleaningdevice with tail swab. In one exemplary embodiment, the method formaking the cleaning device with tail swab includes the steps ofproviding an elongated leader member having opposite ends and foldingone end of the leader member so it forms a hook like shape, cutting asingle elongated strip of material to form a plurality of soft elongatedstrips separated by a continuous middle portion, positioning thecontinuous middle portion of the single elongated strip within the hooklike shape of the leader member, and coating at least a portion of thecontinuous middle portion of the single elongated strip and the hooklike shape at the end of the leader member with a polymer. The methodmay also include covering the end of the leader member opposite the hooklike shape end of the leader member with a separate polymer material.

The detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the inventionherein shows various exemplary embodiments of the invention. Theseexemplary embodiments and modes are described in sufficient detail toenable those skilled in the art to practice the invention and are notintended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of theinvention in any way. Rather, the following disclosure is intended toteach both the implementation of the exemplary embodiments and modes andany equivalent modes or embodiments that are known or obvious to thosereasonably skilled in the art. Additionally, all included examples arenon-limiting illustrations of the exemplary embodiments and modes, whichsimilarly avail themselves to any equivalent modes or embodiments thatare known or obvious to those reasonably skilled in the art.

Other combinations and/or modifications of structures, arrangements,applications, proportions, elements, materials, or components used inthe practice of the instant invention, in addition to those notspecifically recited, can be varied or otherwise particularly adapted tospecific environments, manufacturing specifications, design parameters,or other operating requirements without departing from the scope of theinstant invention and are intended to be included in this disclosure.

Unless specifically noted, it is the Applicant's intent that the wordsand phrases in the specification and the claims be given the commonlyaccepted generic meaning or an ordinary and accustomed meaning used bythose of ordinary skill in the applicable arts. In the instance wherethese meanings differ, the words and phrases in the specification andthe claims should be given the broadest possible, generic meaning. Ifany other special meaning is intended for any word or phrase, thespecification will clearly state and define the special meaning.

1. A cleaning device with tail swab comprising: an elongated flexible leader member having a first end and a second end; and a tail swab comprising a single continuous strip that is cut to form a plurality of strips that extend from opposite sides of a middle portion of the single continuous strip wherein the tail swab is attached to the second end of the leader member.
 2. The cleaning device of claim 1 further comprising a polymer material covering at least a portion of the tail swab and the second end of the leader member.
 3. The cleaning device of claim 2 wherein the polymer material comprises a heat shrink polymer tube member.
 4. The cleaning device of claim 2 wherein a separate polymer material also covers the first end of the leader member.
 5. The cleaning device of claim 1 wherein the single continuous strip is cut at opposite ends to form the plurality of strips which are separated by the middle portion of the single continuous strip.
 6. The cleaning device of claim 1 wherein a width of the middle portion of the single continuous strip is smaller than a width of each of the plurality of strips.
 7. The cleaning device of claim 1 wherein a length of the middle portion of the single continuous strip is smaller than a length of each of the plurality of strips.
 8. The device of claim 1 wherein the second end of the leader member comprises a hook member and the middle portion of the single continuous strip of the tail swab is positioned within the hook member of the leader member.
 9. The cleaning device of claim 1 wherein the leader member comprises a wire coated with a polymer.
 10. The cleaning device of claim 1 wherein the tail swab comprises at least one of a foam material and/or a microfiber material.
 11. The cleaning device of claim 1 wherein the plurality of strips are at least 100 millimeters in length.
 12. The cleaning device of claim 1 wherein the elongated leader member is at least one meter in length. 